Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] Broad-based losses pervade the market today, with ten S&P 500 sectors in negative territory.

The consumer discretionary sector (-3.3%) is at the bottom of today's standings, as weak leadership from Amazon (AMZN 217.00, -17.11, -7.3%) follows the company's earnings report, which saw EPS expectations exceeded, but reports focused on disappointing AWS growth and operating income guidance.

Total construction spending decreased 0.4% month-over-month in June (Briefing.com consensus: 0.1%) following a downwardly revised 0.4% decline (from -0.3%) in May. Total private construction was down 0.5% month-over-month, while total public construction was up 0.1% month-over-month. On a year-over-year basis, total construction spending was down 2.9%.

The key takeaway from the report is the same as the prior month: a downturn in new single-family construction, which is being pressured by higher costs, was the driver behind the weakness in residential spending.

The final University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for July dipped to 61.7 (Briefing.com consensus: 61.8) from the preliminary reading of 61.8. The final reading for June was 60.7. In the same period a year ago, the index stood at 66.4.

The key takeaway from the report is that consumer sentiment, while not strong, has improved in recent months along with inflation expectations.